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Monday, 27 July 2015

PDP accuses President Buhari and APC of planning to run a discriminatory government

The
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused President Muhammadu Buhari
and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of planning to operate a
discriminatory administration capable of fuelling ethnic and religious
resentment across the country.

The party accused Buhari of
making a statement to the effect that he would not treat every part of
the country same on account of the low support he got from some areas
during the last presidential polls.

Addressing a press conference Sunday evening, the PDP National Publicity
Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, alleged that the president has embarked
on witch-hunt exercise aimed at humiliating former President Goodluck
Jonathan and those who served in his administration.

He said President Buhari had told a stunned audience in the United
States that “constituencies that gave me 97 per cent cannot in all
honesty be treated, on some issues, with constituencies that gave me
five per cent,” signifying that his government would be discriminatory.
“Never in the history of our nation has a president made such a
divisive and vindictive declaration. Never in the history of Nigeria
has a president made such tendentious, biased and partisan statement, a
blade on the chord of unity of his own country and people,” he said.

According to Metuh, president Buhari as a respected leader and the
father of the nation must note the enormous damage and danger his recent
partisan declaration has brought to the polity.

“We
demand that the President come clear on this matter. Would this form
the basis of government appointments rather than adherence to merit and
the principle of federal character as enshrined in the constitution?
Would this be a basis for termination of appointments, promotions and
key policies in the service circle?
“Would it form the basis for distribution of infrastructural
development projects and other essential interventions rather than the
principle of equity and equality of federating units as stipulated by
the constitution? Is this a deliberate policy by the APC or his
personal stance? Are we expecting the same discriminatory policy from
APC state governors?
“May we remind President Buhari that his declaration to run a
discriminatory government is in clear violation of his oath of office as
president wherein he publicly swore ‘that in all circumstances, I will
do right to all manner of people, according to law, without fear or
favour, affection or ill-will."

Metuh further expressed the fear that the president’s stance could
divide the people along sectional and religious lines and may trigger a
return of quest for ethnic and sectional self-determination, adding
that it behooves on the president to “to moderate the political ambiance
in the nation and do the needful in reassuring all sections of the
nation of his commitment to be fair and just, in keeping with the oaths
and demands of the highly respected office of the President of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

The PDP spokesman said so far,
APC portends bad change as its government has failed to articulate any
clear policy direction with attendant avoidable confusion and economic
downturn.

He said the PDP had information that the presidency
has gone into negotiations with the World Bank to secure $2.1 billion
for undisclosed uses without consultations with appropriate
stakeholders, the National Assembly and states governments.

“So
far, bad change is that our dear nation is gradually sliding into a
banana republic were the fundamental rights of the citizens are being
trampled upon and where security agencies have become compromised
instruments of oppression in the hands of the ruling party,” he said.

The
PDP spokesman also accused the Buhari- led federal government of doing
everything to humiliate the immediate former President, Jonathan and all
those who served with him.

He said the PDP believed that the
reason the APC administration is whittling down the independence of
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and has been trying to
perpetuate the acting Chairman, Amina Zakari, in office is because they
are seeking to rig the Kogi State governorship elections.

Speaking on the alleged haunting of ex-President Jonathan, Metuh said
PDP would like to know if the Director of Protocol, Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, Ambassador Hussein, was acting out a script from the presidency
when he threatened the former First Lady, Mrs. Patience Jonathan, at
the Port Harcourt International Airport that she would be dealt with
anytime she comes near the VIP Lounge again.

Similarly, Metuh
said the business community in Nigeria and indeed across the world has
noted with utter dismay the disgraceful treatment meted out on some
Nigerian bankers and captains of industries by President Buhari during
his US visit.

“Whereas
the president has the right to decide who makes his entourage on such
an important official visit, which visibly excluded National Assembly
leaders, economic experts and had no woman, the manner with which he
shamed and walked out Nigerian businessmen sends very wrong signal to
international investors and poses great threats to inflow of direct
foreign investment into our country.”